Hiking in Morzine: 9 trails and where each one starts

In Morzine, the Pléney gondola leaves from the middle of the village. You walk out of your accommodation, ride up for ten minutes and reach the ridges without ever taking the car out. Everywhere else in the ski area, getting to a trailhead usually means driving.

The nine hiking trails in Morzine gathered here range from an hour around a lake to a 1,380 m climb. Six start inside the commune, three just outside it. Each entry states where the walk actually starts, including when that point sits in the neighbouring village, which most lists quietly skip.

The nine trails at a glance

Every starting point opens in Google Maps, so you can check the drive and the parking before you set off.

Trail	Start	Distance	Time	Ascent	Level
Lac de Montriond loop	Montriond	3 km	50 min	13 m	Very easy
La Bourgeoise	Col de Joux Plane	5 km	1 hr 15	70 m	Very easy
Super-Morzine ridges	Morzine, Super-Morzine base station	9 km	3 hr 20	260 m	Easy going
Walk to Les Chavannes	Morzine, Pléney base station	7 km	3 hr	100 m	Easy going
Lac de Nyon-Guérin	Nyon plateau	8.6 km	1 hr 15	200 m	Moderate
Pointe de Nyon	Nyon plateau	6.7 km	3 hr 30	593 m	Moderate
Lac des Mines d'Or and Col de Coux	Morzine, Lac des Mines d'Or	7.8 km	4 hr 15	700 m	Demanding
Pointe de Ressachaux	Morzine, Les Putheys	8.6 km	4 hr 30	1,154 m	Strenuous
Les Hauts-Forts	Morzine, Le Crêt	9.4 km	5 hr	1,380 m	Alpine

Walking without the car

Two of these trails start at lifts inside the village itself. That is the most practical advantage Morzine has if you are staying without a car, or if you would rather not hunt for a parking space on an August morning.

The Super-Morzine ridges

The Super-Morzine gondola is a few minutes' walk from the centre, and the Zore chairlift then puts you onto the ridge line. The loop covers 9 km in 3 hr 20 for only 260 m of ascent, since the lifts do most of the climbing. The path crosses the mountain golf course, goes over the Col de la Joux Verte, reaches Avoriaz at 1,780 m, where more walks start, then drops back by the Col de la Croix des Combes. Along the way, a viewpoint gives a sheer drop down onto Lac de Montriond, steep enough that you will want to keep hold of children's hands.

Of all nine trails, this is the only one that leaves the village on foot, crosses a second resort and comes back to where it started.

The walk to Les Chavannes

From the Pléney base station, ten minutes in the gondola put you on a 7 km balcony traverse to the hamlet of Les Chavannes, around 3 hr in all. The path follows the ridge below the Belvédère chairlift, passes the orientation table, crosses the golf course and drops down towards Les Gets, where other walks begin.

One thing to know before you set off. This route is not a loop and ends in Les Gets. You come back on the Balad'Aulps bus from the coach station, so it is worth checking the timetable before leaving rather than once you are there.

Family walks with almost no climbing

Two nearly flat loops, both suitable for young children. Both are reached by car, and neither is strictly speaking in Morzine, which is worth knowing before you go.

The Lac de Montriond loop

3 km, 50 min, 13 m of ascent. The path rings the lake at 1,072 m, on a surface an all-terrain pushchair can handle. Several free car parks sit at either end.

This loop belongs to Montriond, not Morzine, even though the Morzine tourist office lists it. Allow a good fifteen minutes' drive from the centre, or take the free shuttle that serves the area in season.

La Bourgeoise

5 km, 1 hr 15, 70 m of ascent for a view over Mont Blanc at 1,770 m. The walk is rated suitable from the age of six.

People are nonetheless too quick to file it under Morzine. The trail starts at the car park on the Col de Joux Plane, in the commune of Verchaix, which lies in the Giffre valley, not the Portes du Soleil. The pass is twenty minutes up the road that climbs straight out of Morzine, which makes it an easy outing from the village without making it a Morzine trail.

Going higher above the village

One step up, two areas sit a quarter of an hour's drive away. The first offers a choice between a one-hour outing and a committing half-day from the same car park. The second has only one loop, and it is a long one.

Lac de Nyon-Guérin and the summit above it

The Nyon plateau is reached by car via Les Raverettes, and its free car park is among the largest in the area. Two distinct routes leave from it, and they are often confused.

• Lac de Nyon-Guérin, 8.6 km there and back in about 1 hr 15, with 200 m of climbing.
• Pointe de Nyon, 6.7 km in 3 hr 30 and 593 m of ascent, up to 2,019 m.

On the way to the summit you will cross exposed sections, safe enough but unpleasant in wet weather. The official route sheet specifically advises saving this climb for dry days. The area also has lifts open to walkers, serving the Pas de l'Aigle plateau and its glass walkway suspended over the drop.

Lac des Mines d'Or and Col de Coux

7.8 km, 4 hr 15, 700 m of ascent starting from La Manche, a quarter of an hour from the village. The lake sits at around 1,400 m, and the Col de Coux marks the Swiss border.

This is the one long loop on this list you can reach without a car. The free shuttle on line E runs between the Pléney and the lake at short intervals in season. That ease of access should not mislead anyone, because the outing is a proper mountain day.

The two climbs that demand training

More than 1,100 m of ascent for each, with no lift to help. They look alike on paper and part company on one point that matters, exposure.

Pointe de Ressachaux

8.6 km, 4 hr 30, 1,154 m of ascent up to 2,173 m. The trail starts at the hamlet of Les Putheys, reached by car, on the slopes above the commune.

The climb goes steeply through the Bois des Chables, comes out at the hamlet of Le Creux, then crosses a pasture with no flat section until the summit ridge. This is the line of the resort's vertical kilometre race. Mont Blanc has to be earned to the very end, since it only appears in the last few metres. A spring runs on the way down, and a shepherd's shelter stays open on the south side.

Les Hauts-Forts

9.4 km, 5 hr, around 1,380 m of ascent from the hamlet of Le Crêt, on the Route de la Manche. The summit tops out at 2,466 m above Avoriaz, making it the highest point in the Chablais massif.

This one is not simply a long walk. The Col de l'Encarnette has a cabled notch, with a drop on either side. It is not advised for anyone uneasy with heights, and poles earn their place. If you want the ascent without the exposure, take Ressachaux instead, which climbs almost as much with no airy section.

Three things worth knowing before you go

Nothing insurmountable, but these three come up on every outing in the area.

• You will meet patous. These large white dogs guard the flocks on the high pastures. They are doing their job and are not looking for a fight. Give the flock a wide berth, keep walking without running, and keep your own dog on a lead. The tourist office publishes a leaflet on the subject, which tells you how often walkers actually come across them.
• Snow lies higher, and later, than you would think. The valley floor clears weeks before the summits. It can be mild in the village while the tops still hold snow at 2,000 m. Ask about the state of the trail rather than the forecast for Morzine.
• There is a slate quarry to visit between two walks. Three kilometres from the village, the Ardoisière des 7 Pieds is one of the last family-run slate workings in France, listed as an Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant. You go round it with the quarryman who works there, a good way to round off a short walk.

Where to stay in Morzine if you came to walk

Do you walk whenever you get the chance, and does Morzine keep coming back into your plans, for a few days a year or for good? Have a look at our holiday rentals in Morzine for a stay, or at our properties for sale in Morzine if you are settling in. You will find our Morzine team on rue du Bourg, and they also handle letting for owners in the area.